Posted by JohnB on September 13, 2001 at 12:54:56:
Ok... Mike E-mailed me with a question and some good points.
I sent Mike into the water without advising him COMPLETELY all the aspects of my gear! This nearly cost him serious injury and possible death. It did not seem so at the time but the truth is it could have been VERY bad! I again apologize to you for that SeaHunt! The problem was that I leave my 2nd stage hand tight to allow for adjustments in the water DURING a dive if needed. Well Mike should have been informed of this and I neglected to do so. It came undone and he lost air rapidly. He kept his calm (AND his HUMOR), dealt with it and was not hurt (thankful for that!) but the potential for harm was there.
The config IS not the problem. It was MY lack of preparation that was at fault! People, Listen to MHK, preparation even for a little test excursion is VERY important! Take the few minutes required to be informed of all aspects of your dive BEFORE someone gets hurt. This situation was a preventable one!
This brings up pony or not. He was in shallow water but still the addition of even a smaller (NO LESS THAN 6cuft), properly mounted pony bottle would have been not only useful in this case but perhaps crucial.
I agree that a bigger 40cu would have been the best but lets weigh the realities here...How many divers are going to carry such a big pony down to the beach and into the surf? How many boats allow an additional tank aboard if everyone has a 40cu pony? Should not the smaller bottle be considered at least adequate, albeit not ideal, safety equipment for a shallow recreational dive?
I am looking for DIS agreement here so I can understand or find reasons I have missed, why it might be not so. Seahunt , Fill in any missed details!
for SOME others, please no responses with profanity.